The Grinning Devil Pirates
by Dingo T. Wilds
Summary: A crew manned by demons and monsters, beasts and devils, appears out of the East Blue. This crew, where even the most savage of fishmen would be considered the normal ones, is captained by the most monstrous of them all, the adorable little girl Monkey D. Luffia, the Cheshire Cat. Wait, what?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 01: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

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Disclaimer: One Piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda

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Many years ago, on a small island in the East Blue, a little girl lived in a small village. This girl, though only four years old, was not afraid of anything. She often came face to face with deadly encounters due to her grandfather's 'training' and she treated it as if it was a big game. Nothing fazed her. Her name was Monkey D. Luffia, but she would always demand to be called Luffy as she kicked you in the shin with a smile on her face.

Today was the day that something different happened, as today was the day that a crew of notorious cutthroat pirates had made landfall and decided to use the small village as their base for the time they were in the East Blue. Luffy, not knowing that the pirates were rapidly approaching the island, ran across the village with a wide grin and an echoing laugh that bounce off of everything. She soon came to her destination where her caretaker Makino worked, The Party Bar.

"Makino, I'm hungry!" Luffy yelled.

"Luffy!" Makino smiled. "Finally awaken sleepyhead?"

"Yep!" the four year old smiled as she climbed up the stool, nearly tipping it over. Makino smiled warmly at the smaller girl, and she remembered what the mayor had told her earlier.

"Luffy, you shouldn't go outside alone for the next little while," she said worriedly.

"Why not?" Luffy tilted her head and Makino smiled at the child's oblivious cuteness.

"The Mayor told me that he spotted a pirate ship earlier. It's dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt." Makino said as she set a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk in front of the child.

"It's okay! I'll protect you! My punch is as strong as a pistol!" Luffy puffed out her chest, grinning.

Makino laughed, "I'm sure it is."

And Makino believed it to, the little girl was just as monstrous and scary as her grandfather, Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp.

As Luffy finished her breakfast, the door to the pub opened and the bar, once silent and empty, was filled with laughter and people.

"Oi! Can we get some sake and something to eat?" asked a man with bright red hair, "We have the money to pay."

Luffy turned her attention to the red headed man who had slapped down a stack of Beli, 'Wow, is he one of the pirates?'

"Luffy," Makino started, taking a few wary glances at the pirates, "You should go back to the house, I'll get someone to bring you lunch."

Luffy, once again, tilted her head to the side, "Why?"

Makino looked at the loud crowd and then back at her. Luffy looked at the crowd before looking back at her caretaker before asking, "Are they the pirates?"

The group of men looked at the little girl as they realize what was happening. It was the same story in every village actually.

"But why would I leave because of them?" Luffy puffed up her cheeks. "I don't wanna!"

Makino gave into her urges and pinched the younger girl's cheeks. Luffy yelped in pain, and that was when the red-haired captain took notice of her.

"Really now, we're only here to get something to eat and restock our supplies, you don't need to send the brat away."

Luffy made a face at the older man, "I'm not a brat!"

Makino looked at her with wide eyes, shaking her head in warning. The pirate look surprised, but grinned at her, "You've got spunk, kid. What's your name?"

Luffy stared at the older male intensely, her eyes wide and off putting, causing Shanks to slightly fidget in his seat, the girl's stare was unnerving.

After an awkward silence, Luffy finally answered the man's question. "I'm Monkey D. Luffia, but everyone calls me Luffy!"

He grinned. "I'm Shanks. Nice to meet you, Luffy."

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 **A few months later**

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'Wow, I can see the entire village from here!' Luffy thought to herself as she stood on the Rising Force's figure head, 'I think I can see Makino's house.'

"Oi, Luffy! What are you doing?" one of the pirates laughed.

"I'm looking at the village!" Luffy yelled, her eyes dancing and her grin wide.

"Well come on down Lu, we don't want you falling off!" another pirate called out.

"That's right!" Shanks yelled while smiling in amusement. With that, Luffy skipped back down the narrow neck of the figure head with her hands straight out to her sides, not losing any balance as she jumped off of it and landed on Benn.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU LITTLE BRAT?!" Benn yelled as the girl gave him a big smile, "You could have hurt both of us!"

"But I didn't," Luffy said as her eyes grew watery at Benn's berating.

"Idiot!" Shanks yelled as he hit Benn over the head. "Quit making the kid cry."

Shanks picked up the girl and swung her onto his shoulder, "Let's go get something to eat!"

A few minutes later the Party Bar was filled again and Shanks had sat Luffy at the bar, "Why were you on the figure head?"

Luffy looked up at the ceiling, "I was bored."

The red-haired captain fell over comically at the child's answer.

"Luffy," he sighed. "You're as agile as a cat and crazy like one too."

Said girl merely gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm as strong as a tiger too!"

Shanks let out an exasperated sigh, "Let's drink up and celebrate!"

"To the brat's craziness!"

"And to our greatness!"

"I'm not a brat!" Luffy yelled at them before she went back to sipping her milk. Shanks looked at her curiously.

"Hey Luffy, you drink a lot of milk." Shanks stated as she finished off her glass and held it out to Makino for more.

"Makino said it will help me grow up big and strong so I can be a good Pirate!" Luffy said before she took another sip, "And it tastes really good too!"

Shanks let out a laugh, "Pirate? You? You can't even swim!"

Luffy pouted and Makino giggled at the child. "I'm four!"

"Not being able to swim is a pirate's greatest weakness!"

"I can still learn!" Luffy countered. Shanks stared at Luffy for a few more seconds and opened his mouth and let out a loud bark of laughter.

"How long are you going to stay?" Luffy asked, wanting the red-haired man to stay longer.

Shanks paused and thought for a second. "We'll probably set sail a few more times before we head back to the Grandline, we've been here a quite while after all."

Luffy pouted once more, "Aww."

"Sad that we're leaving soon?" Shanks teased.

"Hmph!" the raven-haired child snorted, turning away from him and focusing on her food.

"Hey!" Shanks cried indignantly.

Yasopp snickered as he thought of his own kid, "Sad that little Luffy won't miss you, Captain?"

"Not at all..." Shanks murmured as he slumped against the bar, looking ready to burst onto tears.

As his crew laughed at him, Shanks turned around on his stool and placed his hand over his heart, "Oh woe is me, ignored by a four year old!"

Luffy looked up as the red-haired captain shed crocodile tears over his imagined pain.

"Hey Shanks," Luffy said to get his attention, "Next time you go out to the sea, bring me with you!"

Shanks looked at her before breaking out into laughter.

"Are you laughing at me?!" the girl yelled.

Shanks laughed even harder. "You can't handle being a pirate, kid!"

"Yes I can! I've trained really hard! My punch is as strong as a pistol!" Luffy grinned. Shanks didn't catch Makino making a knock it off motion or see her worried expression. Generally people who doubted Luffy got hit with her monstrous strength.

"Pistol? Wow… really?" Shanks asked monotonously.

"Why are you being so mean to me?!" Luffy yelled at him, her right fist lashing out.

The crew watched, astonished, as the tiny fist connected with their captain's stomach, causing their captain to double over and fall off the stool. As his crew broke out in laughter once more, Shanks staggered back to his feet before leaning on the bar, "What are you feeding that monster?"

"Meat and milk!" Luffy said as she chugged down her third glass.

As Makino nodded, Shanks let out a sigh, "I see..."

Members of Shanks' crew began to tell her about the wonderful life of a pirate. Luffy beamed at them, causing a few to feel faint from visions of an angel. While Yasopp could have sworn by his bottle and son that he saw flowers and sparkles behind her as she imagined life on the sea, Shanks was claiming he saw a devil cat behind her eyes as fire and brimstone filled his vision.

"Don't give her dumb ideas, guy," Shanks sighed with a fork in his mouth.

"But it's the truth, right?" Lucky Roo asked his fellow crew mates.

"Right!"

"Captain, why don't you take her with us one time? It's not that big of a deal!"

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed happily.

"Well, then next time one of you will stay behind and she will take your place," Shanks commented dully.

"We've said enough! Let's drink!"

Luffy's right eye slightly twitched, "Meanies."

"The most important thing is that you're still too young! Wait at least another 15 years and I'll reconsider taking you out to sea," Shanks told Luffy.

Luffy blew the extra pieces of her hair out of her face. "By the time I'm that old, I'm not going to want to go to sea with you."

"That's harsh!"

"Hmph," Luffy snorted and held her glass out again for another refill.

As Shanks turned back to his food, Benn walked over with an empty mug for a refill as well.

"Luffy," Benn stated, placing his hand on her head, "You should try to understand Captain's feelings."

Luffy tilted her head, "Understand Shanks' feelings?"

"Yes. After all, he is our leader. He knows that being a pirate is interesting, but he also knows that a pirate's life is hard and very dangerous," Benn explained. "Do you understand? He doesn't purposely tease your ambition of being a pirate."

Luffy puffed out her cheeks, "I don't understand! Shanks just thinks I'm stupid."

As if on cue, Shanks pointed at her. "Brat says what?"

"What?" Luffy repeated, not getting the joke. When the crew began laughing again, Luffy understood that Shanks was making fun of her and punched him again. Benn could feel the sweat drop on the back of his head as his captain was sent flying across the bar once again by a four year old child.

"Captain," Makino beamed. "You really shouldn't tease Luffy."

"Why not?" Shanks asked with a smug, but pained, grin, "Making fun of her is my joy."

"Meanie," Luffy said as she turned away from him again.

Suddenly, the front doors slammed open, one of them falling off its hinge. "Excuse me!"

Luffy flinched at the mean looking men that had filed into the bar. The one in the lead had a sneer on his face that she didn't like.

"So this is what pirates look like, huh? This is the first time I've seen any around these parts. They look pretty dumb to me." the man then slammed his hand on the bar counter. "We're mountain bandits, but we're not here to cause any trouble. We just wanna buy a few barrels of sake."

"I'm so sorry," Makino apologized with a pale face, "But we just ran out of sake."

"Oh?" he drawled out. "That's strange. Then what are they drinking? Is it water?"

"It's sake," Makino said, "But that's all we have."

"I'm sorry. Looks like we've finished all the sake here," Shanks apologized rather cheerfully, "Sorry about that."

He then grabbed an unopened bottle and handed it to the bandit, "Here. If you don't mind, take the last bottle. It's not opened."

The leader sneered at the pirate as he took the bottle. Looking between the pirate and the bottle, the bandit's sneer deepened as he brought the bottle down on the captain's head.

"Just who do you think I am? Don't take me so lightly," the leader snarled, "One bottle is not enough!"

The pirates were up and ready to fight as their captain hit the ground, soaked in booze. As the man groaned, he motioned for them to stand down.

"Sorry, Makino," Shanks groaned, "I didn't mean to soak your floor with booze."

As the woman tried to wave Shanks off from cleaning the mess up, the mountain bandit spoke again. The crook pulled out a want poster, "See this? My head is worth 8 million Beli. I'm one of the prime fugitives here, and I've killed 56 people. Now that you know who I am, don't mess with us again. After all, mountain bandits and sea pirates don't mingle very well," he finished.

Luffy glared at the man turned to start walking away, only to stop when Shanks spoke, "Sorry about that, Makino. Do you have a mop?"

"Ah," Makino replied, slightly startled. "I'll clean it up."

The bandit looked down in disgust and slashed the counter with his sword, "Well, it seems like you really enjoy cleaning. Now you can enjoy doing it more,"

The fugitive walked out of the bar, "Later, you bunch of chickens."

"Are you alright, Captain?" Makino fretted over the man on the floor. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Shanks replied. "Phew."

Unexpectedly, the entire crew burst out laughing. "Our captain looked so silly! He fixed you up real good, Captain!"

Shanks too began to laugh. Luffy was not amused. She then looked at the mess and then back at Shanks, "Why didn't you fight back? You could of beat that weakling easily!"

Everyone stopped laughing abruptly, and continued to stare at the red haired Captain.

"Ha ha," Shanks chortled. "Sorry, sorry. I really didn't feel like fighting him at the moment."

Luffy jumped off the stool and brushed the invisible dirt off of her shorts, "Whatever, bye."

"Ah, Luffy, wait –" Shanks grabbed her wrist, trying to stop her from walking out the bar and went to pull her back. The force of being yanked in the opposite direction had a drastic effect on the 4 year old, her head popped clean off her neck and shoulders.

Everyone's eyes bulged out as they stared at the girl's head, which suddenly blinked as a pair of cat ears appeared from underneath her hair, "Why's everyone looking at me like that?"

"Her head… it came off and she's still talking!" Shanks screamed.

"No way," Yasopp yelled. "Don't tell me!"

"What!" Luffy shrieked when she saw her body, with a purple and pink striped tail, running around in circles, "Why is the rest of me over there!"

"It's gone!" Lucky Roo cried out. "The Devil Fruit we took from the enemy isn't here!"

"WHAT?!" the rest of the crew yelled as Yasopp managed to grab both Luffy's disembodied head and her headless body, and attempted to put her back together.

"Luffy!" Shanks yelled as he held a picture a fruit in front of her face, "Did you eat this?!"

She stared at the picture, one depicting the small pink and purple watermelon she had eaten, "Yeah, It tasted pretty bad. I thought it was a desert."

"That's one of the Devil Fruits! One of the rarest treasures of the sea!" Shanks roared, shaking her hard enough to nearly cause her head to pop off again. "Whoever eats will gain inhuman abilities, but in exchange they will never be able to swim again!"

Luffy's eyes went wide as her new ears perked up and her tail bushed out, "WHAT!"

All Shanks could do was sigh as the little girl started running in circles again screaming bloody murder at the news, "At least we know something about the fruit's powers now."

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Makino sighed as she glanced at Luffy. After the girl had calmed down enough for Shanks to explain the fruit to her, all the girl could think about was how cool it was that she was now part cat. Shanks had explained that she had eaten a Zoan Fruit, one that allowed her to take on the form of an animal. It was obviously a pretty rare one, since Shanks said most fruits had immediately identifiable patterns. Most were cataloged, but every once in a while, an unidentified fruit would pop up.

He had also said that the Zoan Fruits often came in different models for different species. For example, Luffy had eaten what was now known as the Neko-Neko Fruit, but its model, the type of species that she could turn into, was unknown. He ruled out most common cats, such as lions and house cats, due to the strange purple and pink stripes that patterned her fur.

Luffy seemed different from most other Zoan users. According to Shanks, the first time most Zoan users activated their transformations, they went into their full animal form. Luffy only sprouted bits and pieces, and the furthest she could go was what Shanks guessed was one quarter cat and three quarters human. Shanks tried to prod her into a full transformation so he could figure out the model, but Luffy said that every time she tried it felt like there was a wall blocking her and she always thought of a large purple and pink cat rolling over as it slept.

All this did was make Shanks even more suspicious. She was clearly a cat girl, but her head could come off when she wanted it to. Now that she had control of it, it was her favorite way of scaring people around town. It had to be some special creature, he was sure of it.

To that end he had called his crew together and set sail to a nearby island reputed to have the largest collection of knowledge in the East Blue. He needed to try and figure this out before Luffy hurt herself or someone else. That had been close to two weeks ago. As Makino and Luffy sat in the Party Bar, the young woman watched as her charge sighed, her new ears laying flat as her tail twitched lazily. Makino couldn't help but think of how cute it was that Luffy was lounging in a sunbeam like a giant cat.

"They've been away for a while now," Makino said as she cleaned a wine glass. "Do you feel lonely, Luffy?

"Not really," Luffy said with a lazy shrug.

Makino smiled as the girl yawned, obviously ready for a catnap as someone entered the bar, "Excuse me."

"We're back again," Higuma, the Bandit leader, sneered. "Well, it looks like the pirates aren't here today. It sure is quiet."

He plopped himself down on a nearby chair as his men filed into the building and demanded, "What are you waiting for?! We're customers! Bring us some sake!"

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Makino burst through a door, "Mayor! Hurry! Something bad has happened!"

Woop Slap looked up, startled, "What's wrong, Makino? What's all this fuss about?"

"Luffy was..." Makino panted. "Luffy was taken by the bandits!"

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"How interesting," Higuma said as he smirked, looking down at the hissing and spitting girl "She's really acting like a little kitty cat."

"That hurt Meanie!" Luffy snarled as her tail bushed out in anger, "Didn't your mommy tell you not to step on someone's tail!"

"Didn't you know most people don't have tails, little girl?" Higuma said as he leaned over her. "Who would've thought such a thing as an actual cat-girl exists in this world? I bet if I sell her to a circus, I can surely get a lot of money."

"Shut up, you creep," Luffy hissed as her features shifted to the furthest point she could go. Her eyes became slitted like a cats, her purple ears were pinned back as she bared her sharpened fangs at the man. Her bushy purple and pink tail swished back and forth in her agitation as her hands and bare feet became a cross between paw and the normal appendage, each digit tipped with small claws.

"What did you say brat?" Higuma asked as he leaned in closer, thinking that there was no way that the little freak girl could harm him. He was proven wrong.

"I said to shut up, you stupid old man!" Luffy yowled as she took a swipe at the man's face with her claws, leaving four long scratches across his face.

Higuma roared in pain as he slammed a foot into Luffy's stomach, causing her to collapse, "You stupid little BITCH!"

"Let the child go!" Woop Slap yelled as he arrived, panting as his knees shook from the exertion. "Please! I don't know what Luffy did, and I don't want to argue with you, but I'm willing to pay! So please let the child go!"

"Mayor..." Luffy murmured under her breath.

"As one would expect," Higuma laughed a disgusting laugh. "It's the elders that know the proper way to deal with any situation. But it's too late! You can't save the little brat now because she really made me angry. When weaklings like her dares to attack me, it pisses me off more than anything else!"

"You've damaged my face brat, so I've made up my mind," Higuma drew his sword with a hiss of steel, "I'm not going to sell you, I'm going to kill you instead."

"Luffy!" Makino cried out.

"Please let the child go!" the mayor begged. As Higuma went to draw his sword back, a gunshot cracked through the air, a bullet causing the bandit to drop his sword as it impacted with the blade.

"I was wondering why no one welcomed us at the port," a voice said. "So this is where everyone is hanging out."

Shanks walked down the street with his men following close behind, "Hey, you guys are the bandits from the other day, right?"

Then turning to Luffy, Shanks smirked a little,"Luffy! What's wrong? Isn't your punch as strong as a pistol?"

Luffy turned her head to look at him, tears in her eyes, "It is."

Shanks' eyes widened at her tears. A frown briefly crossed his features before he disappeared. The bandits gasped as their leader doubled over in pain and the girl disappeared as well. As the bandits looked around, they saw the pirate captain handing the crying child to the bar keeper.

"Here Makino, keep a tight hold of the brat while we deal with these idiots."

The bandits snarled as Higuma straightened up and pulled his sword, "Idiots are we? Well it's a sight better than the cowards you are."

Shanks' hat shadowed his eyes as he walked forward towards the man, "You know, normally we wouldn't both with such little fish like you. We have to leave something for the bounty hunters after all. But you've gone and pissed us off by attacking that child."

Shanks momentarily paused as one of the bandits cocked his pistol and aimed it at his temple, "You know, if you're going to draw a gun, use it. Don't just threaten someone with it or else..."

A shot rang out causing the villagers to flinch as Lucky Roo, in speed that belied his large frame, appeared next to the man and put a bullet in his head.

Higuma watched impassively as the man collapsed, but his men were not of the same mind.

"You bastards!" one yelled as he drew his weapon.

"Watch out, these guys fight dirty,"another spoke as he readied his weapon.

"Dirty?" Benn Beckman asked as he stepped forward, "Come on and use your heads, we're not saints or anything, so why should we fight fair?"

"I mean, what did you think?" Shanks said as he drew his sword, "You're staring attempting to stare down a crew of pirates that sail under me, The Yonko Red-Haired Shanks."

Higuma's eyes bugged out as he realized who he had previously attacked as he started to back away. As he took a single step, Shanks was suddenly in front of him, sword at his throat, "Normally if someone dosed me in booze or threw food in my face I would laugh it off and forget about it. But you took it too far and attacked one of the people close to me, an innocent little girl at that. So, in lieu of my normal punishment of beating the shit out of you and leaving you for the Marines, I'm killing you."

Higuma couldn't even move as the sword flashed forward and decapitated him. His men didn't even get a chance to run as the Red-Haired Pirates descended on them, carrying out the punishment as declared by their Captain. No one hurt someone under their protection and got away with it.

As Shanks turned back to Makino, the villagers tensed up. Luffy was watching him with wide eyes as she realized what he had done, but she wasn't scarred like the adults, she realized that he had done it because of her.

"Men! Drag this idiots out to the Coast and feed them to that pesky Sea King," He said before her turned back to Luffy and grinned, "Hey Luffy, I think we figured out what kind of cat you are. Even brought you back a couple of books on it."

Luffy sniffled as she took the two books, one was a book of mythical creatures with a book mark in it and another was a story book labeled 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. Flipping open the first book, she saw the image of a large purple and pink cat with a face splitting grin. The words on the page and the picture caused her to grin widely in return as she spoke, "The Cheshire Cat."

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"So you're leaving?" Luffy asked with a sad little grin.

Shanks nodded, kind of disturbed that the girl never stopped grinning after he had given her the books,"Yep. We've stayed here long enough. It's about time we move on. Are you upset?"

"Yeah, but I won't ask you to take me along anymore. I'll become a pirate myself!" Luffy proclaimed as her grin grew larger.

"Heh," Shanks chuckled. "I wouldn't take you even if you begged me. You don't have what it takes to become a pirate."

Luffy twitched, annoyed at the Captain, "Yes I do! One day, I'll find a crew that's as strong as yours! And then I'll find the world's biggest treasure! And… and…"

Shanks raised an eyebrow, "And…?"

"AND I'LL BECOME THE KING OF PIRATES!"

"Um, don't you me Queen?" Shanks asked, a grin of his own stretching across his face.

Luffy shrugged, "Whatever."

Shanks let out a bark of laughter at her response. He took off his hat and bent down. "This hat is my gift to you. It's my favorite hat, you know! When you become a great pirate in the future, you'll have to return it to me. It's a symbol of your promise to surpass me."

Shanks laughed at the surprised look in the child's eyes as he walked up the ramp to his ship.

"That kid's gonna be big," Benn commented as he pulled in the ramp.

Shanks grinned, "I know, she reminds me of me at that age, if not a few years older."

"Pull up the anchor!"

"Set sail!"

Luffy stood at the dock waving her hands as ship disappeared into the horizon, "I'll be better than you ever were Shanks!"

XxXxXxXx

Author's Note: LEAVE ME ALONE PLOT BUNNIES! PLEASE!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Big Brother?

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Disclaimer: One Piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda

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It was a bright and early morning, the sun was already raising high into the crisp blue and cloudless sky. The birds were chirping, the breeze slighting blowing. Nothing could ruin it…

"I told you already, Grandpa!" Luffy yowled. "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"

…Except for the sounds of a child screaming bloody murder.

"Pirate King my foot!" Garp retaliated, holding the child up by the collar of her shirt,, and with her feline features, she looked like a kitten being carried by the scruff of her neck. "Not only did you go and eat a Devil Fruit, but you have the gall to talk back to me in such a rude way? Luffy, you and Ace are both going to become the strongest marines that have ever lived when you grow up!"

Luffy wrapped her arms around a tree and dug her claws in, hoping to stop her grandpa in his tracks.

"Becoming friends with that damn Red-Haired Brat is completely unacceptable!"

The bark of the tree that Luffy was clinging to tore away as he gave her a yank.

"I don't wanna be a Marine!"

"You're either going to become a Marine or you're going to marry one!"

"Stupid old man!" Luffy screeched as she sunk her claws and fangs into Garp's leg.

"KORA!" Garp roared as he shook his granddaughter loose, holding her a little further out from his vulnerable flesh, "It was my mistake leaving you in that peaceful village."

They arrived in front of a wooden house in the middle of the woods. A stern glare from Garp kept her pinned in place as he pounded his fist on the door, "Dadan! Get out here!"

"So annoying!" A large woman with curly, orange hair came out with her eyes closed. "Who's the reckless daredevil?!"

"It's me."

She looked at Garp with wide eyes and began to back up, "G-Garp!"

"Eh?" two men, one small man and one tall man, came out from behind the curtain.

"You seem to be doing well," Garp commented.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Seriously, I wish you'd just leave me alone for a change! Ace is already ten, you know! I'm not sure that I'm going be able to handle much more of this! Take him back already, would you?!"

Garp laughed as he thought back to his adopted grandson, "He's already 10? Has it really been that long? How's he doing?"

"It's nothing to laugh at!" Dogra protested. "If he gets any wilder, we won't be able to control him at all!"

"Anyways…"

"Don't just change the subject like that!"

Dadan then noticed Luffy, who was running around examining everything she could get her hands on, "Sheesh, that kid's so distracting!"

Garp then picked Luffy up by the back of her shirt, and pulled out a back-pack filled with her clothes and the books Shanks had gotten her, "Take care of her too."

A look of horror spread across the mountain bandit's face, "YOU'VE BROUGHT ME ANOTHER ONE?!"

Garp nodded, "Now come on, Luffy. Say hello."

Luffy looked up, "Hey."

"Who's that kid?" Mogra asked, starching the back of his head.

"She's my granddaughter."

All three of the bandits had their eyes wide open, "WHAT?!"

"WE'VE GOTTA TAKE CARE OF ANOTHER ONE?!"

"GARP'S GRANDDAUGHTER?!"

All three of them answered at the same time, "Not happening!"

Garp loomed over them with his arms crossed, "Well, you have to make a decision. Live the rest of your lives behind bars, or raise this little girl. I keep averting my eyes to your crimes, which number more than the stars in the sky might I add!"

"That's blackmail!" all three of them cried.

"Well," Mogra began, "I don't wanna go to prison,"

"But sometimes, prison actually sounds tempting," Dogra continued. "Our hands are full with just Ace!"

"And now you want us to take your granddaughter too?!" Dadan finished.

Garp merely laughed her off, "She's adorable! What can she possibly do?"

Dadan stared at the man, "She's a little monster, isn't she?! Just like the other one!"

Meanwhile, Luffy was running around, taking in the forest, when someone spat on her. She cringed, wiping it off her face, "Ewww… Who spit on me?"

Garp looked up, "Oh, hey, Ace!"

"You came home, Ace?" the bandits also looked up.

Portgas D. Ace looked down at everyone, sitting on the dead animal he had dragged back through the forest back.

"That's Ace," Garp explained to the girl. "He's six years older than you. You're gonna live with him from today forward."

"EH? IT'S ALREADY DECIDED?!"

Luffy stared at the older boy. Ace glared in return. Garp noticed this and was across the clearing in a flash as he landed a punch Ace's head, "Remember brat, she's just a little girl. So be a gentleman and try to get along!"

Ace glared at the old man as he rubbed his head, the old geezer was apparently, to him at least, trying to saddle them with some snot nosed baby that didn't even look old enough to be out of diapers. It was almost as annoying as the Vice-Admiral's attitude.

"You think this is settled?!" Dadan cried.

Garp turned his head and glared at them, "What?"

The bandits paled and stood up straight, "We'll take care of her!"

"Good! And I don't want to hear about making her do the same things you have Ace do. That means no hunting until she's seven or eight, a reasonable amount of chores that a four year old can handle, and the properly portioned and balanced meals for a growing child until she's seven and it's okay for her to hunt. Am I understood" as Dadan and her men nodded rapidly, Garp grinned, "Then my business is done here! I'll come to visit when I have time."

"Um… What about child support?"

"Put it on my tab."

"This ain't no bar, y'know…"

"What was that?"

"You're always welcome here!" And with that said, the Vice-Admiral left.

Ace jumped down from the buffalo and walked towards the hut.

"Hey, Boss! What are we gonna do with another one to take care of?"

"Well, first let's have something to eat! Go cook something up!"

XxXxXxXx

Dadan looked down at the young girl, thinking over the situation that Garp had forced upon her. Apparently the girl had been living with the Owner of the Party Bar down in Fushia Village, so it was probably a good idea to head down there herself and talk with the woman. The next thing she observed was that the girl obviously inherited both her monstrous appetite and monstrous strength from Garp as she ate twice the amount that an average man would eat, though it was still less than Ace ate on average. Her strength had been discovered when Ace refused to drag the buffalo he had killed into the hideout, stating he had dragged it far enough, and Luffy had found out that it could delay dinner by a few minutes if Mogra and Dogra tried to drag it in. she had it in the hideout faster than it took for the two to get from where they had been standing to the dead animal.

Another thing she noticed was how close she kept her straw hat, as if she was trying to protect it from everyone. Dadan thought it was kind of adorable when Dogra tried to take it, along with her bag, to the area she would be sleeping in up in the attic. The girl had pinned her cat ears back as her tail bushed out. She had taken a swipe a Dogra as he reached for the hat, hissing as he jumped away. Dadan knew about the Devil Fruit and figured Garp probably didn't care enough to mention it. It made sense in a way, seeing as Garp had brought the girl to them with her tail and ears out like they were.

What Dadan didn't like was Luffy's attitude, and her mouth.

"Mountain bandits are stupid," Luffy stated as she looked up from one of her books.

"Shut it brat! We're already tired of dealing with the likes of you!" Dadan yelled at her. "If you don't like it here, get out and starve to death!"

"Calm down Boss," one of the bandits said, fearing Garp's wrath over Dadan's temper when it came to the tiny child.

Luffy stared at her recently emptied plate and then at Ace, who was stuffing his face with extra meat. "I'm still hungry."

"If you want more food than what we served you, you're going to have to earn it! This meat is from the buffalo Ace captured! He gives us some in exchange for a roof over his head and getting out of most of the chores that we would normally give him! Mountain robbers haven't been in shape recently, so having someone that can hunt for us is just as good," Dadan said as she chewed her chunk of meat obnoxiously. "You will have to do a lot of work tomorrow if you want extra food! You'll have to sweep the floors, help with the laundry and dishes, carry firewood, and anything else that's acceptable for a little girl like yourself to help with! As well as act as either bait or a decoy while we rob, steal, swindle, and murder people! And you must not tell Garp what you are doing here!"

Luffy tilted her head, "What would happen if I did tell Grandpa?"

Dadan's eyes dilated as she remembered Garp's threat, "You wouldn't!"

"Fine, you won't have to play bait or decoy, but until your old enough to hunt on your own you'll either be helping out with the chores here or we'll send you with Ace for the day."

"WHAT!" Ace shouted as his head shot up, "She'll slow me down!"

"THEN HELP HER GET STRONGER!" Dadan roared as Luffy blinked as the two went back and forth, "Besides, Garp told you to get along with her, which means you're the closest thing to being her older brother. You'll have to teach her the basics of fighting, hunting, and whatever else you do when she's with you."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't abandon her in the forest when you try to send her with me." Ace snarled as Dadan fell into a thinking pose.

"Whenever she's with you you'll be excused from all your chores and you won't have to share anything you kill for dinner."

Ace glared before he snapped his head to the side, "Whatever."

XxXxXxXx

One Week Later

XxXxXxXx

Ace turned around silently, only to find Luffy behind him. The girl had been following him around all week, and it was kind of getting old. Apparently the cat parts weren't for show either as she often skipped across things that were difficult for him to balance on to cross the more treacherous areas in the forest. He had managed to prevent her from finding his hideout near Grey Terminal, but it was a near thing.

"Hey Ace? Why are you so grumpy?!" Luffy asked, "Do you need a nap?"

Ace didn't reply, so Luffy continued. "Are you hungry? Or Bored? or…?*"

Ace kicked a tree twice, successfully smashing and knocking it over towards Luffy, who quickly dodged it with wide eyes. Ace turned and walked back towards the bandit's hideout, not bothering to check and see if she was following him. He knew she was there, she always was.

XxXxXxXx

"Ace? Why are you back alone?"

"Hmm?"

"Weren't you with Luffy? Where is she?"

"Hell if I know," Ace replied coldly.

XxXxXxXx

"Hey Boss! She's been missing since yesterday! This isn't good!" Dogra said.

"What was that?"

"Listen to me! Won't it look bad that she went missing the first week she got here?!" Dogra argued.

"Who gives a damn?!" Dadan replied, drunk. "If she dies, so be it! We can't do anything!"

"Garp is gonna kill us," Mogra said meekly.

"Tch. Why do we have to look after Garp's granddaughter in the first place? This isn't a daycare, dammit! He should look after his own grandchildren!" Dadan poured more sake into her cup and drank.

"So why didn't you tell him that?" Mogra asked.

"What was that?!" Dadan growled and Mogra looked away.

"We've already given up on looking after Ace. I don't care if she dies!" Dadan continued. "If so we'll just tell Garp it was an accident. Think what'll happen if the government finds out! He's the son of the devil, after all! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WILL DO TO US?!"

"Calm down, Boss!"

What they didn't know was that Ace had been listening the whole time.

XxXxXxXx

One Week Later

XxXxXxXx

"BOSS!"

"WHAT?!"

"LUFFY CAME BACK ALIVE!"

"SHE'S STILL ALIVE?!"

Dadan stared at the relatively unharmed seven-year-old and gaped, "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!

"I was playing with the big stripy kitties," Luffy said with a shrug.

"You were doing what?!"

Luffy ignored them and skipped to her room to read her books.

XxXxXxXx

"Hey Ace!" Luffy called out, "Are you going somewhere again?"

Ace looked back to glare at the girl.

"Take me with you!" she beamed. "Come on, I want to watch you hunt again!"

Ace sprinted into the forest. Luffy's face fell as she ran after him, "Hey wait for me!"

"Hey Boss!" Dogra shouted. "She ran after Ace again!"

"DAMN YOU LUFFY! YOU HAVE CHORES TO FINISH!" Dadan screamed.

Luffy turned around, hopping backwards. She laughed mischievously and stuck her tongue out, "Don't wanna!"

"THE DAMN KID WON'T LISTEN TO A WORD I SAY!"

"Now, now, Boss…"

Dadan turned to Mogra, "Get your ass in gear and bring her back!"

XxXxXxXx

Stopped as she came across a huge trash pile. She had never followed Ace this far before, and she smelled adventure, "It's the end of the forest!"

She began to look around, "Where did ace go, I can't really smell him with all of this stinky trash around… I guess I'll run around until I find him!"

With a grin, Luffy dashed in to the new area, looking for the familiar mop of black hair.

XxXxXxXx

"Sabo!" Ace called out. "Sabo are you here?!"

"Ah," a voice answered from the trees. "Hey, Ace!"

"Sorry for being late!" Ace replied.

"With you being late, I already did the job in town!" Sabo grinned.

"Hm, I see," Ace grinned back. "Well guess what, so did I!"

Sabo counted the money Ace handed him, "Awesome! You got more than me! This is a lot of cash; how did you get it?!"

"I took them from a bunch of people near the gate," Ace smirked. "They might have been carriers for some merchant ship.

"Damn it," Sabo sighed. "You beat me again!"

"Who cares about winning? It's our stash of pirate treasure which we're gonna use one day," Ace grinned. "It's been 5 years since we started saving."

"Yeah! We're gonna leave this East Blue and go somewhere these people have never dreamed of! It's exciting just to think about it!" Sabo laughed as he opened the lid on their stash to add Ace's haul to it..

Ace looked at him, "Hurry up and close it; who knows who will see."

"I wonder how much we need to buy a pirate ship," Sabo wondered, looking at the money in his hands.

"Who knows. Ten million or a hundred million, maybe? But we still have a long way to go."

The a girl's voice suddenly spoke behind them, "Pirate ship?"

At the sound of a foreign voice, Sabo's eyes bulged and quickly closed the place where they hid their treasure.

"You guys want to be pirates?!"

Ace and Sabo looked down, shocked out of their minds. Luffy grinned, faking oblivion, "I do too! So Ace, is this where you come to every day?"

Ace and Sabo looked at each other and nodded, coming to a silent conclusion. They quickly climbed down the large tree, ran towards Luffy, and slammed their fists into her head. "Be quiet!"

They moved to tie her up to the tree, but Luffy's eyes went wide and watery. Luffy began to sniffle and hiccup as she rubbed her head, "Ace! That hurt! I'm telling Grandpa when he comes back!"

"Quite!" Ace barked, worry evident on his face, "And don't you dare tell Garp about this!"

Sabo just watched as Ace tried to get the girl, who was now wailing, as loud as she could, about how mean Ace was and how she was going to tell this 'Garp' person about it. Sabo couldn't tell if Ace was more worried about this 'Garp' finding out or being found.

"So this is the Luffy kid you were talking about," Sabo sighed.

"Oh? You told him about me?" she asked with a watery smile, to which Ace immediately replied, "I told him how annoying you are."

"He also told me that you're empty-headed," Sabo added.

Luffy began to cry again, "Why are you so mean to me today?"

"She must of followed my scent here, damn devil fruit. I thought I had lost her near the tiger den," Ace said to Sabo.

Sabo looked horrified, "The tiger den?! Are you nuts?"

"She usually plays with the cubs! She's enough cat that they don't care if she's there!"

Sabo shook his head, "Anyways, this is the reason I told you to live here with me! That way she would have never found this place! What should we do?!"

"She knows our secret," Ace began darkly. "If we let her leave, she'll tell someone."

"…Let's kill him," Ace concluded.

"Alright, let's do it," Sabo nodded.

They turned back to where Luffy had been crying, only to see she had disappeared. Sabo started to look around for her, But Ace knew better. He looked straight up to see the girl clinging to a tree as she looked more cat like than usual, "Get down here you idiot!"

"No!"

"Get down here right now!"

"Don't wanna!"

"You're over reacting!"

"IF SOMEONE TOLD YOU THAT THEY WERE GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU WOULD REACT THE SAME WAY MEANIE!" she yowled, the fur that had appeared on her body bristling angrily. "I DIDN'T THINK YOU GUYS WERE GOING TO KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"SABO! CLIMB UP AND GET HER!" Ace ordered.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU DO IT!" Sabo shot back.

"I'VE NEVER KILLED A PERSON BEFORE!" Ace panicked.

"SAME HERE! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT!" Sabo panicked as well.

"Oh, I know!" Luffy called down, sounding a bit too cheerful. "How about you both don't kill me! Then everybody's happy!"

"SHUT UP!" they both yelled at her. Luffy paused for a second, before she began crying again, "DON'T KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"Hey, I heard voices from here! Children's voices!" someone yelled.

"Crap! Someone's coming!" Sabo cursed.

"Leave her for now! We have to get away from here or they'll find our treasure!" Ace said.

XxXxXxXx

"Those children Ace and Sabo you're telling me about are famous around here," a man said, "You're sure it's Ace that took your money, right?"

"Yes," a pirate answered. "I'm ashamed, but he got me by surprise."

"What a stupid child, to take money from our crew," Porchemy sneered. "If Captain Bluejam hears about this, he'll kill all of us!"

"Damn! I didn't know that those thugs were working for Bluejam!" Ace whispered. "I shouldn't have taken that money!"

"He has a real sword! That's Porchemy!" Sabo whispered back furiously. "Have you heard of him?! He's crazy! He skins the heads of his opponents while they're alive after you lose a fight with him!"

Slowing hiding behind the bushes, Ace and Sabo came to an agreement. "Let's just let them pass for now…"

Sabo made a noise of alarm, causing Ace to whip his head to the side to look at him, who in turn looked in the direction of where Luffy was supposed to be. "What the… Where is she?!"

They turned to see Luffy being held up by Porchemy. Ace facepalmed, while Sabo just stared in shock.

"Letmego Letmego Letmego!" Luffy screamed as she twisted in the pirate's grip.

 _Why did that idiot go to the enemies?!_ Ace and Sabo both screamed in their minds, eyes bulging.

"LET ME GO!" she yowled as she managed to turn enough to sink her claws in to his arm.

Porchemy winced, but his coat was thick enough to stop most of the claws, "What is this little shit?"

"Help me, Ace!" Luffy pleaded.

 _THAT IDIOT! HE SAID MY NAME!_ Ace and Sabo both ducked behind the bushes.

"Did you just say Ace?" Porchemy questioned. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah, Grandpa said he's supposed to be my big brother, but he's nothing but a big meanie!" Luffy sniffed, before she began to tear up once again, "Oh, but he did try to kill me just now…"

Ace clenched his fists, _Damn it, she just keeps talking!_

"I'm going to ask you one thing. Today, he took our money and ran away. Do you happen to know where it is?" Porchemy asked the 7 year old.

"No! They'll find our treasure!" Sabo cursed.

"That idiot better not say a word!" Ace growled.

"I don't know," Luffy shrugged, she hadn't been paying attention, "It was some big tree in the forest."

Porchemy stared at her before looking at the forest. The smallest tree he could see was as big around as he was. He then began to chuckle. "The brat doesn't know, fan out and try to find Ace and his little friend. It'll be easier to make him tell us then it would be to search each and every tree."

Ace and Sabo stared at their backs in shock. Did Luffy Lie or did she really not pay attention to where they kept it.

"I'll distract them, you move the treasure when they're gone. Grab Luffy when you do."

"Hurry!" Sabo said as Ace scrambled up a tree, "If they find this place, they won't only take what we stole from them; they'll take everything we've been saving up for the past 5 years!"

"What do we do with the girl Porchemy? I ain't ever seen a cat girl like her before," one man said as he leered at the girl, "Could be worth money."

"She's half feral with the way she's acting, better to through her back in the forest and forget about her," The man said as he followed through with what he said, tossing Luffy into the tree line. Luffy hissed when she landed on her butt, but the man just grinned, "Less trouble for us anyhow."

It was at that point the man Ace robbed noticed the boy looking down from a nearby tree, "Porchemy, there he is!"

The Pirates turned, forgetting about the cat-girl, and gave chase when Ace dashed away through the tree tops. Luffy watch before shrugging. Dusting herself off, Luffy skipped into the forest following the top hatted boy's scent.

XxXxXxXx

The sun was setting and the sky was a scarlet color as Ace and Sabo lay in a small clearing, panting from the efforts they had made to keep their treasure safe. They looked at each other with tired grins as Ace spoke, "We did it, our treasure is safe."

"What about that Luffy girl?"

"She'll wander around until she catches my scent or finds her way back to Dadan's hideout."

"That's heartless." Sabo replied.

"She's a brat."

"Am not!" a voice piped up as the two boys shot up, seeing Luffy. She was essentially back to normal, well, what Ace knew was normal for her with her tail and ears. She stood there with her hands on her hips as she frowned on them, "And I'm still telling Grandpa you were going to kill me."

Before Ace could start a fight with the girl, Sabo got between them, "Are you alright, Porchemy didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Nope!" She chirped, liking the new boy immediately. Even if he did hit her and tried to kill her, he was still nicer than Ace.

"Man," Ace groaned and plopped back down on the ground, "I have no idea what just happened, but there's no way Bluejam's men will ever forgive us! We're gonna be chased now!"

Luffy tilted her head, "Why is that bad?"

"GODDAMN IT! YOU!" Ace yelled at her, "THOSE MEN ARE CRIMINALS WHO EASILY KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN!"

"Ara," Luffy blinked then a smile slowly grew on her face. "You were worried about me?"

She jumped on his back and rubbed her cheek on his. Ace reddened and tried to get her off, only to fail. He heaved a sigh and gave up.

"Shi shi shi!" Luffy laughed. "See! You can be nice if you try!"

"I WAS NOT WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" Ace yelled, face crimson. "Why didn't you tell them where our money was?"

Luffy looked up, confusion on her. "I didn't know where it was."

'She really didn't know,' Sabo and Ace thought at the same time, disbelief clear on their faces.

"Why do you keep following me?" Ace finally asked.

"Because you're supposed to be my big brother," Luffy said with a shrug, "And I can't really go anywhere else or it'll make Grandpa mad."

Ace looked at her confused and Luffy elaborated, "I'm not allowed to go back to the village and I'm not particularly fond of the mountain bandits. If I didn't go after you, I'd be alone."

Ace stared at her with dark eyes, wondering where the childish Luffy he knew was. The one in front of him reminded him of, well, himself, "What about your parents?"

"Don't know."

Ace's eyes were glazed, as if in a trance, remembering his past. The people who told him that being his father's son and his existence was a crime.

"Huh," Ace let out a sigh. "But I hate spoiled brats like you, you know?"

"I'M NOT A SPOILED BRAT!" Luffy yelled at him. "I'M STRONG!"

"Strong? What's so strong about you? You're a little girl!" Ace teased.

Luffy saw red as she sock Ace in the stomach, lifting him off of his feet and knocking him across the clearing, "I'm strong like Grandpa!"

As Ace wheezed from the hit, Sabo shook his head. "Hey, by the way, you two, I have a little problem. I've lived in this trash heap all my life…"

"But from this day forward, Ace and I are going to have our lives targeted by pirates."

"I got an Idea!" Luffy exclaimed after a few moments, "We can…"

XxXxXxXx

Dadan gaped as she counted one extra head at the table.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! ACE! LUFFY! WHO IS THIS BRAT?! WHY IS THERE ANOTHER ONE OF YOU HERE?!"

"Yo!" Sabo slapped Dadan's hand in greeting. "You're Dadan, right? I'm Sabo!"

"Sabo?! I know that name! I've heard you're quite the shitty little pipsqueak!" Dadan snarled at him, trying to intimidate him to leave.

Sabo merely laughed at that, "Oh really? Well, I've heard that you're quite the shitty old hag!"

"DON'T BOTHER COLLECTING INFORMATION YOU DON'T NEED, DAMN IT!" Dadan yelled in outrage.

The three kids laughed in response and took off to the forest. Dadan sighed in resignation. 'Looks like there's going to be one more brat in this place.'

XxXxXxXx

For the next few months, it was going to be very lively in the mountain bandits' home. Luffy and Ace alone were bad enough, but now that there was a third, their lives were full of pranks, laughter, and yelling.

Sabo, Ace, and Luffy spent most of their time in the forest, training to become stronger and eventually, they became so infamous, their names reached the center area of the kingdom. In the future, these three children would be important in shaping the world. Today though, they merely laughed and ran as the mountain bandits chased them for spiking the food with hot peppers.

XxXxXxXx

Author's Note: Someone... help me... the bunnies are horrible beings of mass creation...


End file.
